England bowlers allow India to add only 88 to their overnight 276 for 3
England 118 for 3 (Burns 49, Root 48*, Siraj 2-34) trail India 364 (Rahul 129, Anderson 5-62) by 246 runs
The day couldn’t have began any better for England. Overnight centurion KL Rahul miscued a drive straight to extra cover off Ollie Robinson, second ball of the day, and Anderson had Ajinkya Rahane caught behind off the first ball next over to put an end to a 23-ball effort for India’s vice-captain that yielded a single run. At 282 for 5, India were suddenly in danger of a rapid end to their innings as England made use of the overcast conditions far better than they had on the first day.
The last recognised pair – Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja – did come good at that point, even if briefly in a 49-run stand. Pant played with typical panache, stepping out to slash over the bowlers, to pummel through the covers, and on one instance even stepping out and leaving a ball outside off. He was dismissed by Mark Wood, who would eventually go on to get Jadeja as well. India’s last four wickets added 33, a laboured effort that took 16.1 overs of batting around an atypically subdued Jadeja, who was the last man out. That total of 364 signalled a move towards some parity in the game for England.
Full report to follow…
Varun Shetty is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo